Fake IDs Snagged at the Third Edition

The Metropolitan Police Department confiscated more than 20 fake IDs from patrons at the Third Edition, Feb. 12, the Washington Examiner first reported. Police took the IDs from persons who presented them after they had entered the restaurant. Police identified 14 underaged drinkers – mostly Georgetown University students.

Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Bill Starrels told the campus newspaper, The Hoya, that those identified had used false identification, but he was unsure whether or not any arrests were made. Starrels is ANC 2E's representative to the the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA). Georgetown's department of public safety reported the names of the students charged with underage drinking and use of a false ID to the university, it said.

"Thirds is an easy target for many college students, not just from Georgetown," Starrels told The Hoya. "Georgetown students weren't the only ones in the establishment at the time, but most of them were." A few students charged also told The Hoya of being approached by plain-clothes police who asked to see their IDs and threatened with arrest if not cooperative.

Local news blog DCist.com reported that at least one patron admitted to having gotten the fake identification card from the China-based website, IdChief.com – which printed holograms and magnetic strips on the cards.

While it is not its first time, the Third Edition may face a short-term liquor license suspension that cuts into its weekend hours, Starrels told The Hoya. "Obviously, students were wrong to be going in there to drink, but there is a responsibility by the establishment to do what it takes to keep a young person out of there," he said. "It's been suggested multiple times by the ANC that they ask for two IDs automatically."